While I’m enjoying time with my family in Romania several of my favorite food bloggers (born outside US just like me) are sharing their culinary talents with you.
Today, I’d like you to welcome Kankana. She’s an Indian, now living in sunny California.
On her blog, Sunshine and smile, she shares mostly Indian inspired recipes from appetizers to main dishes and even desserts all shown in stunning photos. If you’re craving comfort Indian food, Kankana’s blog is the place to start cooking from.
Now, please say Hello to my friend Kankana
Chena Sondesh/Curdle Milk Fudge
When I offered these to Arvind, he said ‘did you get these from the sweet shop’? I was on cloud 9 and kept blabbering about it to everybody for the next two days 
Sondesh or Sandesh, as you may call it, is sweet fudge made with milk and it is very popular among Bengalis. It’s usually made during special occasions and at times, just because we want to eat it. You don’t have to struggle much to look for Sondesh in West Bengal. Every restaurant, big or small, and every single sweet shop will sell one or the other variety of Sondesh. Trust me when I say this, you will never get tired of these delicious and soft sweet bites.
Roxana from ‘A Little Bit Of Everything’ requested me to do a guest post and she was hoping if I could share some comfort food with memories from childhood. I did say ‘Yes’ and then immediately started wondering ‘what is my comfort food from childhood’?
Don’t get me wrong.. I don’t have amnesia. It’s just that as a child, I hardly use to enjoy food and eating was more like a torture to me.
Roxana and I started interacting for few months ago and what caught my attention is her ability to bake breads. After a lot of brainstorming I decided to make something sweet for her and her little daughter. Thank you Roxana for giving me the opportunity to share this dish in your beautiful blog.
I really don’t remember what was my comfort food as a kid, but I clearly remember that my Mom used to make Sondesh very frequently. Mom’s Sondesh was very famous among our friends and families and she used to make that with ‘Khoya’. Making khoya at home is a very tedious task. The milk has to be thickened by slow cooking and constant stirring in an open wok. The whole process used to take at-least 2 hours but the final result was always worth the effort.
She would then make tiny balls out of it and I had to press it in a mould to give it a nice fancy shape. It was a fun task and as a kid, it always felt like a proud moment
May be someday, I will gain enough patience to make my Mom’s sondesh and share it with you.
Few weeks back, I came across Soma’s recipe on Sondesh, which is a different kind of sondesh made with curled milk ‘Chena’. It took me back to my childhood days and I decided to make these for Roxana and her family
This will make about 10 Sondesh
Ingredients :
* 1/2 gallon milk (8 cups)
* 3-1/2 tbs lemon juice
* 1/2 cup sugar
* a pinch of saffron threads
* finely chopped pistachio, for garnish
Directions :
In a deep pan, bring the milk to boil. Remember to stir it occasionally or else the milk will get burnt.
Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat and pour the lemon juice while constantly stirring.
Within 3 to 4 seconds, the milk will curdle and you should see clear green water. At this time, turn off the heat completely. You can drop few ice-cubes in the pan to bring down the temperature.
Let it cool for a minute and then strain it through the cheesecloth.
Wash the collected cheese with cold tap water to remove the lemon flavor.
Tie the sides of the cheesecloth together tightly and hang it somewhere to drain the remaining water from the cheese. This should take about an hour.
Take out the cheese from the cheesecloth and knead for about 10 minutes, or until it’s smooth.
Mix sugar and saffron threads to it and knead for another couple of minutes.
Next, heat a non-stick pan and cook the paneer in low heat for about 15 minutes. Keep stirring constantly and eventually, you’ll see that the color will change to a darker shade.
Take it out and start shaping it while its warm.
I flattened the cheese dough and used a 1-inch cookie cutter to shape it up, but you can use any other shape you like.
These will be soft and very delicate to handle but as they cool down, they will harden a little bit.
Garnish with chopped pistachio and serve!
{ 33 comments… read them below or add one }
Gorgeous post from Kankana and this is a childhood favorite for many
Thanks Roxana for the kind words and thank you so much for giving me this opportunity
I would like to try this…delicious and it looks yummy too…I think this is similar to pulburon our native delicacy.
Such a beautiful post and i'm taken back to my childhood.
This si so new to me.would never think of making something like this.Your frien would have be happy with yummy fudge;)
Oh it looks so gorgeous! What a beautiful post
Thank you for sharing this lovely post. Love it!
Great post Kanakana, and awesome guest post Roxana…Kankana is very talented blogger and love her photography and of course recipes. Very well done ladies!
Wow, I have never seen a recipe quite like this. I'm intrigued by it and wondering what it might taste like?
Really a beautiful post and based on the ingredients and recipe….this one is delicious, too! Thanks so much for sharing!
HI Kankana,
I did not understand the cook the paneer part.. so we just put the paneer in a hot pan and stir it ? how long should we cook it approx?
Great guest post Kankana! I know the feeling of having something in the back of your mind that you want to make but waiting until right moment. Your pictures are stunning and now I am imagining how awesome these gems must taste! Yum!
Those photos make me want to reach right in and grab a bite or three of that amazing treat. This is a new one for me. I love the thought of it.
delicious looking sandesh kankana
lovely guest post
yum great guest post love both of your blogs have fun back home with family Roxana
Hi Kankana, great guest post…these are so interesting and they look delicious
Great post and I agree I have never seen a recipe like this.
hi kankana! wonderful recipe as usual
i always learn about new recipes from u.
I will definately give this a try! Definately!!
Chena Sandesh looks very yummy.
Wow… it's very interesting method to make this milk fudge. I love it. Great guest post Kankana! Of course I enjoyed your stunning photos from top to bottom!!
Hi Roxana, I come from Kankana's lovely blog. I just love these cute sweet bites. They look absolutely gorgeous
Have a wonderful day!
Aldy.
BTW, I'm your happy new follower
Wow, this sounds sooo cool! I have never even heard of these before, but they sound delicious and look beautiful. Thanks for sharing!
Beautiful dessert! It's fascinating to see how "we" adopt heritage cuisine to suit your friends and family and also reflect your style!
Hi Kankana, I loved this Guest post. Sondesh is surely a comfort food for many like you, including me
These look sinfully rich and delicious 
Hi Girls:) Wow these look so delicious! The process reminds me of making Mexican cheese plus the sweet ingredients. I will have to try this out. Thanks for sharing Kankana:) Hope you are enjoying your trip Roxana.
OMG….this one is to die for…the dessert is a killer variety and any time a fave with most Indians mainly by its giddy sweetness i guess!
thank you Roxana and thank you Kankana for sharing a piece of India here!
SO nice to see you here on Roxana's blog, Kankana! Beautiful photos of such a lovely fudge! I think I missed this one last month
New food for me! Looks delicious
Buzzed
I have never heard of these but they sound absolutely fabulous!!!! Congrats on the Top 9!
Thanks for introducing me to Sondesh – wonderful story and guest post, I'm always intrigued by the foods of different cultures. Congrats on the Top 9!
Hi kankana this milk fudge will be a healthy great sweet snack for my kids… tq for sharing the recipe:)
and tq Roxana for sharing the guess post to us… congratz for the top 9 on foodbuzz!!